Act of State doctrine

On 8 June 2017, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (the Court) ruled in TNB Fuel Services Sdn Bhd v. China National Coal Group Corporation that a Chinese state-owned enterprise was not entitled to rely on the doctrine of Crown immunity in proceedings relating to the enforcement of an arbitral award unless this company could demonstrate that it bears almost no independence and acts fully under the control of the Crown.READ MORE

On 17 January 2017, the U.K. Supreme Court (the Supreme Court) handed down three exceptionally significant decisions on allegedly tortious acts done by British Armed Forces in the context of overseas military operations or by government officials alleged to have been complicit in the wrongful acts done by foreign States. Each of the three decisions dealt with important questions of law such as State immunity, the “Foreign Act of State” doctrine, the “Crown Act of State” doctrine as well as the compatibility of overseas detentions with Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

On 2 November 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court (the Supreme Court) heard the oral arguments in a case where it was asked to clarify the pleading standards and the “expropriation” exception of the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act of 1976 (FSIA).

The case arose in the context of a dispute between Helmerich & Payne International (HMI) – an American company – and Helmerich & Payne de Venezuela (HMV) – a subsidiary of HMI incorporated under the laws of Venezuela – on one hand, and the Venezuelan government and the national petroleum company PDVSA, on the other hand.READ MORE